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A group of teenage girls admired the muscular lines of “Deep Orange 3,” a prototype Mazda that was designed and built by students at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research.

They oohed and aahed at its beauty and power — and imagined that they might someday design and build such a machine.

It was the final day of a weeklong program at Clemson called “We Do Math!” that’s designed to open girls to the possibilities of careers in science, technology, engineering and math that have been principally the domain of the opposite sex.

The 25 rising ninth- and 10th-graders from across South Carolina attended math classes in the mornings for most of the week and spent their afternoons putting to use what they learned building robots and model cars — the kind of things you’d more likely expect guys to be doing.

It was all about breaking that mold and exposing these girls to the options that could lie ahead for them if they excel in math.

“Math is the gatekeeper for all STEM careers,” said Serita Acker, director of Clemson’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program, which ran the camp.

The campers learned the math behind cryptosystems that protect information and QR codes that are often used in advertising to refer potential customers to websites. A representative from the education company Kaplan held a session on the PSAT, the preparatory test for the SAT.

The agenda also included dance classes, a spa night and time to play games and watch movies.

But the emphasis was on breaching the STEM gender gap.

Only 27 percent of the engineering and science work force is female, according to the National Science Board. Women earn just 18 percent of the bachelor’s degrees in engineering and computer science.

A growing body of research is finding that the gender gap is a result of cultural influences, according to Clemson.

“Girls are not necessarily lacking the skills and abilities to do math,” Acker said. “It’s the presentation. We say, ‘math is hard.’ Sometimes we internalize that.”

At ICAR, the girls got to peek into a tire-testing room, marvel over a climate chamber that’s used to test vehicles in all types of weather and look at an engine test lab.

They also got a sales pitch for careers in the automotive design industry.

Amy Bulger, marketing manager for ICAR, told them about women who have been successful there, including one who won a $100,000 prize for an application she developed to help monitor cutting conditions in machine tools.

“We work with over 100 companies,” Bulger told the girls, “and they’re all looking for students like you.”

Jassamine Green, a rising ninth-grader from Sumter who participated in the camp, said her most memorable experience during the week was in a bioengineering class.

The professor “was talking about how they replace cartilage in bones when it’s broken or worn down, and that kind of inspired me more to do what I want to do.”

She plans to major in biochemistry.

Berlene Shipes, a Clemson math major who was one of the counselors for the camp, said many girls are unnecessarily intimidated by math.

“So our goal is to make sure it’s accessible for everybody so everybody can feel like they can do it — which they can,” she said.

As to her own future, the junior from Barnwell County said, “I’m still looking at all my options.”